Toward photonic crystal fiber based distributed chemosensors

Abstract

Different structures of photonic crystal fibers (PCF) have been investigated for application as intrinsic optical gas sensors. The fiber is used both as waveguiding structure and as sample containment. Advantages and drawbacks of solid core and hollow core PCF structures will be discussed. Theoretical assessment for the sensitivity of the investigated fiber types will be given. The calculated sensitivity of the solid core PCF will be reviewed using the fiber as methane sensor. A laser micro-drilling technology is used to perform first samples for quasi-distributed PCF chemical sensing.